The Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) and the 2026 BC Election

2026 Provincial election: Bringing psychologists’ priorities, every health care professional and the public into the conversation

Dear colleagues and fellow British Columbians,

With a provincial election now set for October 24, British Columbians will head to the polls on a much shorter timeline than usual. While the snap election leaves less time for pre-election engagement than we would normally undertake, we want to ensure that health care, and the issues that matter to psychologists, to every regulated health professional, and to the people we serve, remain part of the election conversation.

Why we are speaking out
The Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) was introduced alongside claims that it would protect the public. We want a health-care system with strong public safety and protection, one that supports the people who provide care and is free of government control and political agenda. The HPOA, as designed, does not meet that standard and is less than British Columbians deserve.

Key priorities for BC health care
Given the limited time available, we have identified four key priorities, outlined further below, that require attention during the election and from the next government:
– End political control of health regulation and restore independent, profession-informed governance
– Protect patient privacy and the confidentiality of the therapeutic relationship
– Restore fair process: independent discipline, due process and the right to appeal
– Protect access to care and keep health professionals practising in BC

These four areas are not exhaustive. Other important issues continue to require attention, including timely access to psychological assessments for ICBC and WorkSafeBC claims, child custody and autism; regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists; clear definitions of discrimination alongside the Act’s important commitment to Indigenous cultural safety; and reducing administrative burdens that take professionals away from patient care.

What is the overriding problem of the HPOA?
The problem is the structure of the law itself: who appoints the boards, what powers they hold, and what rights professionals have. As of April 1, 2026, British Columbia became the first province in Canada to completely eliminate democratic elections for professional members on health regulatory boards. Under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), the Minister of Health appoints every board member through a government-appointed process. Peer practitioner elections to those boards have ended. Traditional court appeal rights have been removed, and Colleges were amalgamated and reduced from 15 to 6 and stripped of their self-regulating independence.
Because the problem is structural, amendments to individual sections cannot fix it. We would welcome any step that restores independence, but the goal is a replacement of the HPOA built with the professions, with a structure that keeps politics out of health care.

For psychologists, the clearest example is privacy and confidentiality. Therapy only works when people trust that what they say is private. Under the Act, a government appointed regulator’s assessor can read a client’s confidential file without the client’s consent, and a psychologist who refuses can face misconduct findings and penalties. Some people will not seek help, and others may stop providing the information needed for their best care.

This is not only a psychology issue. Doctors of BC reports that 98% of its Representative Assembly members agreed that, without meaningful physician input, the Act would significantly raise health-system costs and reduce access to care. In our own survey, of BC psychologists, 68% of those who responded said they might leave the profession under the current framework. And since that survey, we have seen the impact actively unfolding. When experienced professionals leave, retire early, or reduce scope of practice, people wait longer for therapy, for primary care, and for the assessments that decide disability claims, custody and diagnoses. It is more efficient to support and retain a qualified health care professional than it is to replace them.

We support strong public protection, the Act’s anti-discrimination and Indigenous cultural safety provisions, and its support for people harmed by professionals. None of those goals requires political control of health regulation.

Hearing from the candidates
We are asking every candidate in this election one question: will you commit to repealing and replacing the HPOA with a law, built with the professions and the public, that keeps politics out of health care? We will publish every response exactly as received at www.hpoa-psychologists.com/election-2026.

On Wednesday, October 14 we are hosting a virtual town hall for health professionals; email us for details and registration. Email: hpoa.psychologists@gmail.com
We do not endorse or oppose any party or candidate.

Our advocacy continues
Whatever the outcome of the provincial election, we will continue to communicate with elected leaders of every party, with allied professions and with the public, to ensure that regulation protects the public and that health professionals have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting the care they provide and the patients they serve.

Sincerely,
Psychologists of BC for Ethical Care and Governance